Playback Device Pairing

ABSTRACT

The present application discloses playback devices and networks, software for operating playback devices and playback device networks, and methods of operating playback devices and networks, where an individual network device is configured to switch between operating various operating modes comprising a non-paired mode and a paired mode, where the playback device is configured to output various channels of audio content within various audio frequency ranges while operating in the various operating modes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/773,966 titled “Playback Device Pairing,” filed on Jan. 27, 2020, andcurrently pending; U.S. application Ser. No. 16/773,966 is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/128,443 titled “PlaybackDevice Pairing,” filed on Sep. 11, 2018, and issued on Feb. 4, 2020, asU.S. Pat. No. 10,555,082; U.S. application Ser. No. 16/128,443 is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/629,937 titled “Gain Basedon Play Responsibility” filed on Feb. 24, 2015, and issued on Nov. 20,2018, as U.S. Pat. No. 10,136,218; U.S. application Ser. No. 14/629,937is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/299,847 titled“Multi-channel pairing in a media system” filed on Jun. 9, 2014, andissued on Dec. 22, 2015, as U.S. Pat. No. 9,219,959; U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/299,847 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/083,499 titled “Multi-channel pairing in a media system” filed onApr. 8, 2011, and issued on Jul. 22, 2014, as U.S. Pat. No. 8,788,080;and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/083,499 is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/013,740 titled “Controlling and grouping ina multi-zone media system” filed on Jan. 25, 2011 and issued on Dec. 1,2015, as U.S. Pat. No. 9,202,509. The entire contents of the Ser. Nos.16/773,966; 16/128,443; 14/629,937; 14/299,847; 13/083,499; and13/013,740 applications are incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

The present application also incorporates by reference for all purposesthe entire contents of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/853,790 and U.S.Provisional App. 60/825,407. U.S. application Ser. No. 11/853,790 titled“Controlling and manipulating groupings in a multi-zone media system,”was filed Sep. 11, 2007, and issued on Jul. 9, 2013, as U.S. Pat. No.8,483,853; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/853,790 claims priority to U.S.Provisional App. 60/825,407 titled “Controlling and manipulatinggroupings in a multi-zone music or media system” filed on Sep. 12, 2006,and now expired.

BACKGROUND

Some embodiments disclosed herein are generally related to the area ofconsumer electronics and human-computer interaction. In particular, someembodiments related to method and apparatus for controlling ormanipulating a plurality of multimedia players in a multi-zone system.Some embodiments are directed to multi-channel pairing in a mediasystem.

Music is very much a part of our everyday lives. And thanks to theadvancement of technology, music content is now more accessible thanever. The same can be said of other types of media, such as television,movies, and other audio and video content. In fact, now a user can evenaccess the content over the Internet through an online store, anInternet radio station, online music service, online movie service, andthe like, in addition to the more traditional means of accessing audioand video content.

The demand for such audio and video content continues to surge. Giventhe high demand over the years, technology used to access and play suchcontent has likewise improved. Even still, technology used in accessingthe content and the playback of such content can be significantlyimproved or developed in ways that the market or end users may notanticipate.

An enduring passion for quality audio reproduction or system iscontinuing to drive demands from users. One of the demands includes anaudio system in a house in which, for example, one could grill toclassic rock on a patio while another one may cook up his/her own musicselections in a kitchen. This is all at the same time while a teenagercatches a ballgame in a family room, and another one blasts pop in abedroom. And the best part of such audio system is that each familymember does not need his or her own stereo system—one system giveseveryone access to all the music sources.

Currently, one of the systems that can meet part of such demand is aconventional multi-zone audio system that usually includes a number ofaudio players. Each of the audio players has its own amplifier(s) and aset of speakers and typically installed in one place (e.g., a room). Inorder to play an audio source at one location, the audio source must beprovided locally or from a centralized location. When the audio sourceis provided locally, the multi-zone audio system functions as acollection of many stereo systems, making source sharing difficult. Whenthe audio source is provided centrally, the centralized location mayinclude a juke box, many compact discs, an AM or FM radio, tapes, orothers. To send an audio source to an audio player demanding suchsource, a cross-bar type of device is used to prevent the audio sourcefrom going to other audio players that may be playing other audiosources.

In order to achieve playing different audio sources in different audioplayers, the traditional multi-zone audio system is generally eitherhard-wired or controlled by a pre-configured and pre-programmedcontroller. While the pre-programmed configuration may be satisfactoryin one situation, it may not be suitable for another situation. Forexample, a person would like to listen to broadcast news from his/herfavorite radio station in a bedroom, a bathroom and a den whilepreparing to go to work in the morning. The same person may wish tolisten in the den and the living room to music from a compact disc inthe evening. In order to satisfy such requirements, two groups of audioplayers must be established. In the morning, the audio players in thebedroom, the bathroom and the den need to be grouped for the broadcastnews. In the evening, the audio players in the den and the living roomare grouped for the music. Over the weekend, the audio players in theden, the living room, and a kitchen are grouped for party music. Becausethe morning group, the evening group and the weekend group contain theden, it can be difficult for the traditional system to accommodate therequirement of dynamically managing the ad hoc creation and deletion ofgroups.

There is a need for dynamic control of the audio players as a group.With a minimum manipulation, the audio players may be readily grouped.In a traditional multi-zone audio system, the audio players have to beadjusted one at a time, resulting in an inconvenient and non-homogenousaudio environment. Further, there is a need to individually orsystematically adjust the audio volume of the audio players.

Additionally, when the audio players are grouped, there is a need toindividually or systematically adjust the sound (e.g., volume) of theaudio players. In a situation in which two or more audio players areseparately in one environment, there is a need to reconfigure theseaudio players dynamically to create a more pleasant listeningenvironment to increase the maximum capable sound output (e.g., a soundpressure level).

SUMMARY

The embodiments described herein include, but are not limited to,various devices, systems, methods, and computer program products. Thissection is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the presentinvention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments.Simplifications or omissions in this section as well as in the abstractor the title of this description may be made to avoid obscuring thepurpose of this section, the abstract and the title. Suchsimplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention.

In general, the present invention pertains to controlling a plurality ofmultimedia players, or simply players, in groups. According to oneaspect of the present invention, a mechanism is provided to allow a userto group some of the players according to a theme or scene, where eachof the players is located in a zone. When the scene is activated, theplayers in the scene react in a synchronized manner. For example, theplayers in the scene are all caused to play an audio source or music ina playlist, wherein the audio source may be located anywhere on anetwork.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the scene may beactivated at any time or a specific time. A user may activate the sceneat any time so that only some selected zones in an entertainment systemfacilitate a playback of an audio source. When the scene is activated ata specific time, the scene may be used as an alarm or buzzer.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, acontrolling device (also referred to herein as controller) is providedto facilitate a user to select any of the players in the system to formrespective groups each of which is set up per a scene. Although variousscenes may be saved in any of the members in a group, commands arepreferably sent from the controller to the rest of the members when oneof the scenes is executed. Depending on implementation, the commandsinclude parameters pertaining to identifiers of the players, volumessettings, audio source and etc.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a configurablemodule is implemented in the controlling device that providesinteractive graphic user interface for forming, managing and controllinggroups in the system, de-grouping a group or adjusting audio volume ofindividual players or a group of players.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, individualplayers may be paired or grouped to stimulate a multi-channel listeningenvironment. In instead of grouping selected players to play back anaudio item, a user is allowed to activate one of the players to processthe data of the audio item, essentially separating the data intoindividual streams, each of the streams representing a single-soundtrack and being played back in one of the players, thus creating amulti-channel listening environment with the selected players.

The present invention may be implemented in many forms includingsoftware, hardware or a combination of both.

According to one embodiment, the present invention is directed to amethod for groupings in a multi-zone media system, the method comprisesproviding a mechanism to allow a user to determine which players in thesystem to be associated with a theme representing a group; andconfiguring the theme with parameters pertaining to the players, whereinthe theme is activated at anytime or a specific time so that the playersreact in a synchronized manner. The players in a scene are synchronizedto play a multimedia file when the scene is activated.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to anentertainment system for grouping players, the system comprises: aplurality of players, each located in one zone; and a controllerproviding a mechanism to allow a user to select which of the players tobe associated with a theme representing a group; and configure the themewith parameters pertaining to the selected players, wherein the theme isactivated at anytime or a specific time so that the selected playersreact in a synchronized manner. As a result, the selected players aresynchronized to play a multimedia that is in a digital format andretrieved from a source over a network.

According to one embodiment, the present invention is a method forsimulating a multi-channel listening environment, the method comprises:grouping a set of players to simulate the multi-channel listeningenvironment, the players capable of communicating over a data network;designating which of the players to reproduce which one of audiochannels in a title selected on a controller with a display screen;causing to process data representing the selected title into streams,each of the streams representing one of audio channels; causing todistribute the streams respectively to the players; and causing theplayers to play back the streams in synchronization.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to asystem for a stereo listening environment, the system comprises: aplurality of players, at least a first one and a second one of theplayers located in one place; and a controller providing a mechanism toallow a user to select the first and second players to be paired tosimulate the stereo listening environment, the first player beingconfigured to process data for a selected title into two streamsrespectively for left and right sound channels, wherein the controllerprovides a user interface to allow the user to determine which one ofthe first and second players to reproduce the left sound channel or theright sound channel, the controller is further configured to display aplaylist from which the title is selected.

According to still another embodiment, the present invention is anapparatus for a stereo listening environment. The apparatus may be asmart phone with a display screen. The apparatus comprises a networkinterface to facilitate the apparatus to communicate with the Internet;a phone networking interface to facilitate the apparatus to communicatewith a cell phone network provided by a service provider; a userinterface to enable the network interface and the phone networkinginterface; a display screen to allow a user to control a plurality ofaudio players being coupled to an ad-hoc network, select first andsecond audio players to be paired to simulate a stereo listeningenvironment, both of the first and second audio players being configuredto process a data stream for a selected title into two streamsrespectively for left and right sound channels, wherein the userdetermines which one of the first and second audio players to reproducethe left sound channel or the right sound channel, and configures todisplay a playlist from which the title is selected to be played in thestereo listening environment.

Further embodiments described herein provide technology for grouping,consolidating, and pairing individual playback devices to create orenhance a multi-channel listening environment. Particularly, theembodiments described herein enable two or more playback devices to bepaired, such that multi-channel audio is achieved or enhanced. Suchembodiments may be used to produce stereo sound or other audioenvironments suitable for audio content encoded with more than twochannels, such as for certain kinds of television, movies, and music.

For example, an apparatus according to an embodiment comprises a networkinterface, a plurality of speaker drivers, an amplifier, and aprocessor. The network interface receives audio data over a network. Theamplifier powers the plurality of speaker drivers. The processorprocesses the audio data to be output through the plurality of speakerdrivers. The processor further configures a first equalization of theoutput from the plurality of speaker drivers in accordance with a firsttype of pairing and configuring a second equalization of the output fromthe plurality of speaker drivers in accordance with a second type ofpairing.

In another example, a method according to an embodiment comprisesreceiving audio data over a network and processing the audio data to beoutput through a plurality of speaker drivers. The method furtherincludes configuring a first equalization of the output from theplurality of speaker drivers in accordance with a first type of pairingand configuring a second equalization of the output from the pluralityof speaker drivers in accordance with a second type of pairing.

One of the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention isto remotely control a plurality of multimedia players in a multi-zonesystem, playing and controlling the audio source synchronously if theplayers are grouped together, or playing and controlling the audiosource individually if the players are disassociated with each other.

Another of the objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention is to stimulate a multi-channel listening environment.

Yet another of the objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention is to achieve or enhance a multi-channel listeningenvironment.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon examining the following detailed description of anembodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration in which the present inventionmay be practiced;

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary functional block diagram of a player inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows an example of a controller that may be used to remotelycontrol one of more players of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C shows an example of a controller that may be used to remotelycontrol one of more players of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D shows an exemplary internal functional block diagram of acontroller in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A provides an illustration of one zone scene, where the leftcolumn shows the starting zone grouping—all zones are separate, thecolumn on the right shows the effects of grouping the zones to make agroup of 3 zones named after “Morning”;

FIG. 3B shows that a user defines multiple groups to be gathered at thesame time;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary user interface that may be displayed on acontroller or a computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A shows a user interface to allow a user to form a scene;

FIG. 5B shows another user interface 520 to allow a user to form ascene;

FIG. 5C shows a user interface to allow a user to adjust a volume levelof the zone players in a zone scene individually or collectively; and

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart or process of providing a player theme or azone scene for a plurality of players, where one or more of the playersare placed in a zone.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative configuration in which an audio source isplayed back on two players in accordance to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative configuration of a pairing amongst multipleplayers in accordance to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart or process of grouping a plurality of audioproducts to play separated sound tracks in synchronization to simulate amulti-channel listening environment; and

FIGS. 10A to 10F show example snapshots of a controller used in certainembodiments.

In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating certainembodiments, but it is understood that the inventions are not limited tothe arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. OVERVIEW

The detailed description of the invention is presented largely in termsof procedures in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing,and other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemblethe operations of data processing devices coupled to networks. Theseprocess descriptions and representations are typically used by thoseskilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of theirwork to others skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presentinvention. However, it will become obvious to those skilled in the artthat the present invention may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and circuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the present invention.

The embodiments described herein relate to multi-channel pairing in amedia system. The embodiments are particularly useful in pairing two ormore playback devices together to create or enhance multi-channel audioreproduction, like stereo, surround sound, or some other multi-channelenvironment. The embodiments will also find utility in connection withany system for which multi-channel pairing is desired.

In an embodiment, two playback devices that are each configured tooutput a plurality of audio channels independent of each other areselectively paired, such that subsequent to pairing, one playback deviceis configured to output a first subset of the plurality of audiochannels and the other playback device is configured to output a secondsubset of the plurality of audio channels. The first and second subsetsare different. For instance, each playback device is configured tooperate in a two-channel mode or stereo mode prior to being paired(e.g., each playback device is configured to play both right and leftchannel audio). Subsequent to pairing, one playback device isreconfigured to output a first channel (e.g., right channel audio andnot left channel audio) and the other playback device is reconfigured tooutput a second channel (e.g., left channel audio and not right channelaudio), which is different from the first channel.

In another embodiment, a collection of three or more playback devicesthat are each configured to output a plurality of audio channelsindependent of another playback device in the collection are selectivelypaired, such that subsequent to pairing, each of the playback devices isconfigured to output a different audio channel from the collection. Thisembodiment is particularly useful in a television or movie theater typesetting where a particular playback device of the multiple playbackdevices is configured to output in two-channel or stereo mode at onetime (e.g., when playing a song), and subsequent to pairing, isconfigured to output as a front-right channel, a front-center channel, afront-left channel, a rear-right channel, a rear-left channel, asubwoofer channel, and so on (e.g., when watching television or a movieor listening to music that contains more than two-channels).

In another embodiment, one of the paired playback devices processes thedata of an audio item to separate the data into channels, each of thechannels representing a single-sound track, for example. The playbackdevice sends the separated channel(s) to the other, respective playbackdevice(s). The playback devices play their distinctive channels insynchrony, thus creating a multi-channel listening environment.Alternatively, each of the paired playback devices processes the data ofan audio item, or a portion of the data, and plays only those one ormore channels designated for the respective playback device.

In another embodiment, two or more playback devices may be grouped intoa single or consolidated playback device and the consolidated playbackdevice may be paired with one or more playback devices. For instance,two playback devices may be grouped into a first consolidated playbackdevice and two additional playback devices may be grouped into a secondconsolidated playback device. The first and second consolidated playbackdevices may be paired, for example. In certain embodiments, eachplayback device of a consolidated playback device is put intoconsolidated mode, which may result in a changed equalization for one ormore speaker drivers of any particular playback device. Further, one ormore additional playback devices may be added to a consolidated playbackdevice.

In certain embodiments, a playback device that is configured to outputan audio channel is paired with one or more additional playback devices,such that the playback device is reconfigured to output a differentaudio channel. For instance, the playback device might be configured tooutput a right channel for stereo mode, but subsequent to being pairedwith one or more additional playback devices, might be reconfigured tooutput a rear, right channel for theater mode. The playback device maybe paired to one or more other playback devices.

In certain embodiments, a playback device that is configured to output aplurality of audio channels is paired with one or more additionalplayback devices, such that the playback device is configured to outputa subset of the plurality of audio channels relative to the one or moreadditional playback devices. For instance, the playback device might beconfigured to output in two-channel or stereo mode, but subsequent tobeing paired with one or more playback devices might be configured tooutput a right or left channel. The playback device may be paired to oneor more other playback devices.

In certain embodiments, a playback device comprises a network interface,one or more speaker drivers, an amplifier, and a processor. The networkinterface receives audio data over a network. The amplifier powers thespeaker drivers. The processor processes the audio data to be outputthrough the speaker drivers. The processor further configures a firstequalization of the output from the speaker drivers in accordance with afirst type of pairing and configuring a second equalization of theoutput from the speaker drivers in accordance with a second type ofpairing. The playback device may operate in any of: non paired mode,paired mode, consolidated mode, and grouped mode.

In certain embodiments, a controller is configured to, among otherthings, pair two or more playback devices to establish a multi-channelaudio environment. That is, through the controller, a user can selectwhich playback devices to pair. Once programmed, the playback devicesmay operate in paired mode until disengaged, for example. In someembodiments, the controller is wirelessly coupled to the one or moreplayback devices. In other embodiments, the controller is wired to theone or more playback devices.

According to certain embodiments, the action of pairing two or moreplayback devices is triggered based on a command from a user via acontrol interface (e.g., a manual command creates a pair) or responsiveto an event (e.g., an automatic command creates a pair). Example eventsinclude a detection in the change of audio content (e.g., the audiocontent goes from having two-channel content to three or more channelcontent, and vice-versa), a detection of a certain time, a detection ofa certain kind of entertainment (e.g., detecting that the user iswatching television versus just listening to music), or any other eventthat is programmed to create a pair amongst playback devices. The eventdetection might occur by a controller, one of the playback devices, orsome other device, for example.

According to certain embodiments, in an attempt to optimize themulti-channel pairing, the configuration of a playback device mayinclude any of: changing the equalization of the playback device bychanging the equalization of one or more specific speaker drivers andoptimizing the synchronization between paired devices. Examples ofchanging the equalization are described more below.

These embodiments and many additional embodiments are described morebelow. Further, the detailed description is presented largely in termsof illustrative environments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks,processing, and other symbolic representations that directly orindirectly resemble the operations of data processing devices coupled tonetworks. These process descriptions and representations are typicallyused by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey thesubstance of their work to others skilled in the art. Numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe present invention. However, it is understood to those skilled in theart that certain embodiments of the present invention may be practicedwithout certain, specific details. In other instances, well knownmethods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been describedin detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the embodiments.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutuallyexclusive of other embodiments. Further, the order of blocks in processflowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments of theinvention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply anylimitations in the invention. The embodiments described herein,explicitly and implicitly understood by one skilled in the art, may becombined with other embodiments.

II. EXAMPLE ENVIRONMENT

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to likeparts throughout the several views. FIG. 1 shows an exemplaryconfiguration 100 in which certain embodiments may be practiced. Theconfiguration may represent, but not be limited to, a part of aresidential home, a business building or a complex with multiple zones.There are a number of multimedia players of which three examples 102,104 and 106 are shown as audio devices. Each of the audio devices may beinstalled or provided in one particular area or zone and hence referredto as a zone player herein. It is understood that a zone can comprisemore than one zone player.

As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, an audio source oraudio sources are in digital format and can be transported or streamedover a data network. To facilitate the understanding of the exampleenvironment of FIG. 1, it is assumed that the configuration 100represents a home. Though, it is understood that this technology is notlimited to its place of application. Referring back to FIG. 1, the zoneplayer 102 and 104 may be located in two of the bedrooms respectivelywhile the zone player 106 may be installed in a living room. All of thezone players 102, 104 and 106 are coupled directly or indirectly to adata network 108. In addition, a computing device 110 is shown to becoupled on the network 108. In reality, any other devices such as a homegateway device, a storage device, or an MP3 player may be coupled to thenetwork 108 as well.

The network 108 may be a wired network, a wireless network or acombination of both. In one example, all devices including the zoneplayers 102, 104 and 106 are coupled to the network 108 by wirelessmeans based on an industry standard such as IEEE 802.11. In yet anotherexample, all devices including the zone players 102, 104 and 106 arepart of a local area network that communicates with a wide area network(e.g., the Internet). In still another example, all devices includingthe zone players 102, 104 and 106 and a controller 412 forms an ad-hocnetwork and may be specifically named, e.g., a household identifier:Smith Family, to be differentiated from a similar neighboring setup witha household identifier, e.g., Kallai Family.

Many devices on the network 108 are configured to download and storeaudio sources. For example, the computing device 110 can download audiosources, such as music or audio associated with videos, from theInternet (e.g., the “cloud”) or some other source and store thedownloaded audio sources locally for sharing with other devices on theInternet or the network 108. The computing device 110 or any of the zoneplayers 102, 104, and 106 can also be configured to receive streamingaudio. Shown as a stereo system, the device 112 is configured to receivean analog audio source (e.g., from broadcasting) or retrieve a digitalaudio source (e.g., from a compact disk). The analog audio sources canbe converted to digital audio sources. In accordance with the presentinvention, the audio source may be shared among the devices on thenetwork 108.

Two or more zone players (e.g., any two or more of the zone players 102,104, and 106) may be grouped together to form a new zone group. Anycombinations of zone players and an existing zone group may be groupedtogether. In one instance, a new zone group is formed by adding one zoneplayer to another zone player or an existing zone group.

In certain embodiments, there are two zone players in one environment(e.g., a living room in a house). In one embodiment, instead of groupingthese two zone players to play back the same audio source in synchrony,these two zone players may be configured to play two separate sounds inleft and right channels. In other words, the stereo effects of a soundare reproduced through these two zone players, one for the left soundand the other for the right sound. Likewise, for a 3-channel (or 2.1sound effects) sound, three such zone players may be reconfigured as ifthere are three speakers: left and right speakers and a subwoofer toform a stereo sound. The details of the reconfiguring the zone playersand operating these audio products will be described below. Similarconfigurations with multiple channels (greater than 3, such as 4, 5, 6,7, 9 channels and so on) also apply.

For example, configurations that use more than two channels may beuseful in television and theater type settings, where video content suchas in the form of television and movies is played together with audiocontent that contains more than two channels. Further, certain musicmight similarly be encoded with more than two channel sound.

In certain embodiments, two or more zone players may be consolidated toform a single, consolidated zone player. The consolidated zone playermay further be paired with a single zone player or yet anotherconsolidated zone player. A consolidated zone player may comprise one ormore individual playback devices. Each playback device of a consolidatedplayback device is preferably set in a consolidated mode.

According to some embodiments, one can continue to do any of: group,consolidate, and pair until a desired configuration is complete. Theactions of grouping, consolidation, and pairing are preferably performedthrough a control interface and not by physically connecting andre-connecting speaker wire, for example, to individual, discretespeakers to create different configurations. As such, certainembodiments described herein provide a more flexible and dynamicplatform through which sound reproduction can be offered to theend-user.

It is understood that the technology described herein is not limited toits place of application. For example, it is understood that zones andzone players, and the embodiments described herein, may also be used invehicles, on water craft, airplanes, amphitheaters, outdoors, along thestreets in a village or city, and so on, in addition to homes, offices,gyms, schools, hospitals, hotels, movie theaters, malls, stores,casinos, museum, entertainment parks, or any other place where audiocontent is played. As such, it will be appreciated that the embodimentsdescribed herein may be used in connection with any system orapplication for which multi-channel pairing is desired.

III. EXAMPLE PLAYBACK DEVICES

Referring now to FIG. 2A, there is shown an exemplary functional blockdiagram of a zone player 200 in accordance with an embodiment. The zoneplayer 200 includes a network interface 202, a processor 204, a memory206, an audio processing circuit 210, a module 212, and optionally, anaudio amplifier 214 that may be internal or external, and optionally, aspeaker unit 218 connected to the audio amplifier 214. The networkinterface 202 facilitates a data flow between a data network (i.e., thedata network 108 of FIG. 1) and the zone player 200 and typicallyexecutes a special set of rules (i.e., a protocol) to send data back andforth. One of the common protocols used in the Internet is TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). In general, a networkinterface 202 manages the assembling of an audio source or file intosmaller packets that are transmitted over the data network orreassembles received packets into the original source or file. Inaddition, the network interface 202 handles the address part of eachpacket so that it gets to the right destination or intercepts packetsdestined for the zone player 200. Accordingly, each of the packetsincludes an IP-based source address as well as an IP-based destinationaddress.

The network interface 202 may include one or both of a wirelessinterface 216 and a wired interface 217. The wireless interface 216,also referred to as a RF interface, provides network interface functionsby a wireless means for the zone player 200 to communicate with otherdevices in accordance with a communication protocol (such as thewireless standard IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g). The wired interface217 provides network interface functions by a wired means (e.g., anEthernet cable). In one embodiment, a zone player includes both of theinterfaces 216 and 217, and other zone players include only a RF orwired interface. Thus, these other zone players communicate with otherdevices on a network or retrieve audio sources via the zone player. Theprocessor 204 is configured to control the operation of other parts inthe zone player 200. The memory 206 may be loaded with one or moresoftware modules that can be executed by the processor 204 to achievedesired tasks. According to one embodiment, a software moduleimplementing an embodiment, such as described herein, is executed, theprocessor 204 operates in accordance with the software module inreference to a saved zone group configuration characterizing a zonegroup created by a user, the zone player 200 is caused to retrieve anaudio source from another zone player or a device on the network.According to another embodiment, a software module implementing anembodiment, such as described herein, is executed, the processor 204operates in accordance with the software module in reference to a savedzone group configuration characterizing a zone group created by a user,the zone player 200 is caused to retrieve an audio source from anotherzone player or a device on the network and synchronize the players inthe zone group to play back the audio source as desired. According toanother embodiment, a software module implementing an embodimentdescribed herein creates a pair between two or more zone players tocreate a desired multi-channel audio environment.

According to one embodiment, the memory 206 is used to save one or moresaved zone configuration files that may be retrieved for modification atany time. Typically, a saved zone group configuration file istransmitted to a controller (e.g., the controlling device 140 or 142 ofFIG. 1, a computer, a portable device, or a TV) when a user operates thecontrolling device. The zone group configuration provides an interactiveuser interface so that various manipulations or control of the zoneplayers may be performed.

In certain embodiments, the audio processing circuit 210 resembles mostof the circuitry in an audio playback device and includes one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing part, anaudio enhancement part or a digital signal processor and others. Inoperation, when an audio source is retrieved via the network interface202, the audio source is processed in the audio processing circuit 210to produce analog audio signals. The processed analog audio signals arethen provided to the audio amplifier 214 for playback on speakers. Inaddition, the audio processing circuit 210 may include necessarycircuitry to process analog signals as inputs to produce digital signalsfor sharing with other devices on a network.

Depending on an exact implementation, the module 212 may be implementedas a combination of hardware and software. In one embodiment, the module212 is used to save a scene. The audio amplifier 214 is typically ananalog circuit that powers the provided analog audio signals to driveone or more speakers.

It is understood that zone player 200 is an example of a playbackdevice. Examples of playback devices include those zone players that arecommercially offered for sale by Sonos, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif.They currently include a ZonePlayer 90, ZonePlayer 120, and Sonos S5.The ZonePlayer 90 is an example zone player without a built-inamplifier, whereas the ZonePlayer 120 is an example zone player with abuilt-in amplifier. The S5 is an example zone player with a built-inamplifier and speakers. In particular, the S5 is a five-driver speakersystem that includes two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and onesubwoofer. When playing audio content via the S5, the left audio data ofa track is sent out of the left tweeter and left mid-range driver, theright audio data of a track is sent out of the right tweeter and theright mid-range driver, and mono bass is sent out of the subwoofer.Further, both mid-range drivers and both tweeters have the sameequalization (or substantially the same equalization). That is, they areboth sent the same frequencies, just from different channels of audio.While the S5 is an example of a zone player with speakers, it isunderstood that a zone player with speakers is not limited to one with acertain number of speakers (e.g., five speakers as in the S5), butrather can contain one or more speakers. Further, a zone player may bepart of another device, which might even serve a primary purposedifferent than audio.

IV. EXAMPLE CONTROLLER

Referring now to FIG. 2B, there is shown an exemplary controller 240,which may correspond to the controlling device 140 or 142 of FIG. 1. Thecontroller 240 may be used to facilitate the control of multi-mediaapplications, automation and others in a complex. In particular, thecontroller 240 is configured to facilitate a selection of a plurality ofaudio sources available on the network, controlling operations of one ormore zone players (e.g., the zone player 200) through a RF interfacecorresponding to the RF interface 216 of FIG. 2A. According to oneembodiment, the wireless means is based on an industry standard (e.g.,infrared, radio, wireless standard IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g).When a particular audio source is being played in the zone player 200, apicture, if there is any, associated with the audio source may betransmitted from the zone player 200 to the controller 240 for display.In one embodiment, the controller 240 is used to synchronize audioplayback of more than one zone player by grouping the zone players in agroup. In another embodiment, the controller 240 is used to control thevolume of each of the zone players in a zone group individually ortogether.

In an embodiment, the controller 240 is used to create a pairing betweentwo or more playback devices to create or enhance a multi-channellistening environment. For example, the controller 240 may be used toselect and pair two or more playback devices. In addition, thecontroller 240 may be used to turn pairing on or off. The controller 240may also be used to consolidate playback devices, and further to set aparticular playback device in consolidated mode. Accordingly, in someembodiments, the controller 240 provides a flexible mechanism fordynamically configuring a multi-channel audio environment. In someinstances, the pairing creates a multi-channel listening environment. Insome instances, the pairing enhances a multi-channel listeningenvironment by increasing the separation between devices. For example,two individual playback devices, which are positioned at a distance fromeach other, may provide more channel separation to the listener than theaudio coming from only a single device.

The user interface for the controller 240 includes a screen 242 (e.g., aLCD screen) and a set of functional buttons as follows: a “zones” button244, a “back” button 246, a “music” button 248, a scroll wheel 250, “ok”button 252, a set of transport control buttons 254, a mute button 262, avolume up/down button 264, a set of soft buttons 266 corresponding tothe labels 268 displayed on the screen 242.

The screen 242 displays various screen menus in response to a user'sselection. In one embodiment, the “zones” button 244 activates a zonemanagement screen or “Zone Menu”, which is described in more detailsbelow. The “back” button 246 may lead to different actions depending onthe current screen. In one embodiment, the “back” button triggers thecurrent screen display to go back to a previous one. In anotherembodiment, the “back” button negates the user's erroneous selection.The “music” button 248 activates a music menu, which allows theselection of an audio source (e.g., a song) to be added to a zoneplayer's music queue for playback.

The scroll wheel 250 is used for selecting an item within a list,whenever a list is presented on the screen 242. When the items in thelist are too many to be accommodated in one screen display, a scrollindicator such as a scroll bar or a scroll arrow is displayed beside thelist. When the scroll indicator is displayed, a user may rotate thescroll wheel 250 to either choose a displayed item or display a hiddenitem in the list. The “ok” button 252 is used to confirm the userselection on the screen 242.

There are three transport buttons 254, which are used to control theeffect of the currently playing song. For example, the functions of thetransport buttons may include play/pause and forward/rewind a song, moveforward to a next song track, or move backward to a previous track.According to one embodiment, pressing one of the volume control buttonssuch as the mute button 262 or the volume up/down button 264 activates avolume panel. In addition, there are three soft buttons 266 that can beactivated in accordance with the labels 268 on the screen 242. It isunderstood that, in a multi-zone system, there may be multiple audiosources being played respectively in more than one zone players. Themusic transport functions described herein shall apply selectively toone of the sources when a corresponding one of the zone players or zonegroups is selected.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a software moduleimplementing one embodiment of the present invention is executed, theprocessor 204 operates in accordance with the software module inreference to a saved zone group configuration characterizing a zonegroup created by a user, the zone player 200 is caused to retrieve anaudio source from another zone player or a device on the network andsynchronize the players in the zone group to play back the audio sourceas desired.

FIG. 2C shows an exemplary controller 260 which may correspond to thecontrolling device 140 or 142 of FIG. 1. The controller 260 is providedwith a touch screen that allows a user to interact with the controller,for example, to navigate a playlist of many items, to control operationsof one or more players. In one embodiment as it will be further shown inFIGS. 10A to 10F, a user may interact with the controller to make amulti-channel audio environment, such as create a stereo pair forexample, and may even be used to separate the multi-channel audioenvironment, such as separate or disengage a stereo pair. It should benoted that other network-enabled portable devices such as an iPhone,iPad or any other smart phone or network-enabled device may be used as acontroller to interact or control multiple zone players in anenvironment (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac may also beused as a controller). According to one embodiment, an application maybe downloaded into a network enabled device. Such an application mayimplement most of the functions discussed above for the controller 240using a navigating mechanism or touch screen in the device. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate the flexibility of such anapplication and its ability to be ported to a new type of portabledevice given the detailed description herein.

FIG. 2D illustrates an internal functional block diagram of an exemplarycontroller 270, which may correspond to the controller 240 of FIG. 2B, acomputing device or a smart phone. The screen 272 on the controller 270may be an LCD screen. The screen 272 communicates with and is commandedby a screen driver 274 that is controlled by a microcontroller (e.g., aprocessor) 276. The memory 282 may be loaded with one or moreapplication modules 284 that can be executed by the microcontroller 276with or without a user input via the user interface 278 to achievedesired tasks. In one embodiment, an application module is configured tofacilitate grouping a number of selected zone players into a zone groupand synchronizing the zone players for one audio source. In anotherembodiment, an application module is configured to control together theaudio sounds (e.g., the volumes) of the zone players in a zone group. Inoperation, when the microcontroller 276 executes one of the applicationmodules 284, the screen driver 274 generates control signals to drivethe screen 272 to display an application specific user interfaceaccordingly, more of which will be described below.

The controller 270 includes a network interface 280 referred to as a RFinterface 280 that facilitates wireless communication with a zone playervia a corresponding RF interface thereof. In one embodiment, thecommands such as volume control and audio playback synchronization aresent via the RF interfaces. In another embodiment, a saved zone groupconfiguration is transmitted between a zone player and a controller viathe RF interfaces. The controller 270 may control one or more zoneplayers, such as 102, 104 and 106 of FIG. 1. Nevertheless, there may bemore than one controller, each preferably in a zone (e.g., a room orrooms nearby each other) and configured to control any one and all ofthe zone players.

In one embodiment, a user creates a zone group including at least twozone players from the controller 240 that sends signals or data to oneof the zone players. As all the zone players are coupled on a network,the received signals in one zone player can cause other zone players inthe group to be synchronized so that all the zone players in the groupplayback an identical audio source or a list of identical audio sourcesin a timely synchronized manner such that no (or substantially no)audible delays or hiccups could be heard. Similarly, when a userincreases the audio volume of the group from the controller, the signalsor data of increasing the audio volume for the group are sent to one ofthe zone players and causes other zone players in the group to beincreased together in volume and in scale.

According to one implementation, an application module is loaded inmemory 282 for zone group management. When a predetermined key (e.g. the“zones” button 244) is activated on the controller 240, the applicationmodule is executed in the microcontroller 276. The input interface 278coupled to and controlled by the microcontroller 276 receives inputsfrom a user. A “Zone Menu” is then displayed on the screen 272. The usermay start grouping zone players into a zone group by activating a “LinkZones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping a zone group byactivating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button. The detail of thezone group manipulation will be further discussed below.

As described above, the input interface 278 includes a number offunction buttons as well as a screen graphical user interface. It shouldbe pointed out that the controller 240 in FIG. 2B is not the onlycontrolling device that may practice the present invention. Otherdevices that provide the equivalent control functions (e.g., a computingdevice, a hand-held device) may also be configured to practice thepresent invention. In the above description, unless otherwisespecifically described, it is clear that keys or buttons are generallyreferred to as either the physical buttons or soft buttons, enabling auser to enter a command or data.

One mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for music playback isto link a number of zone players together to form a group. To link anumber of zone players together, a user may manually link each zoneplayer or room one after the other. For example, there is a multi-zonesystem that includes the following zones.

Bathroom

Bedroom

Den

Dining Room

Family Room

Foyer

If the user wishes to link five of the six zone players using thecurrent mechanism, the user may start with a single zone and thenmanually link each zone to that zone. This mechanism may be sometimesquite time consuming. According to one embodiment, a set of zones can bedynamically linked together using one command. Using what is referred toherein as a theme or a zone scene, zones can be configured in aparticular scene (e.g., morning, afternoon, or garden), where apredefined zone grouping and setting of attributes for the grouping areautomatically effectuated.

For instance, a “Morning” zone scene/configuration command would linkthe Bedroom, Den and Dining Room together in one action. Without thissingle command, the user would need to manually and individually linkeach zone. FIG. 3A provides an illustration of one zone scene, where theleft column shows the starting zone grouping—all zones are separate, thecolumn on the right shows the effects of grouping the zones to make agroup of 3 zones named after “Morning”.

Expanding this idea further, a Zone Scene can be set to create multiplesets of linked zones. For example, a scene creates 3 separate groups ofzones, the downstairs zones would be linked together, the upstairs zoneswould be linked together in their own group, and the outside zones (inthis case the patio) would move into a group of its own

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 3B, a user defines multiple groups tobe gathered at the same time. For example: an “Evening Scene” is desiredto link the following zones:

Group 1: Bedroom, Den, and Dining Room

Group 2: Garage and Garden, where Bathroom, Family Room, and Foyershould be separated from any group if they were part of a group beforethe Zone Scene was invoked.

A feature of certain embodiments is that that zones do not need to beseparated before a zone scene is invoked. In one embodiment, a commandis provided and links all zones in one step, if invoked. The command isin a form of a zone scene. After linking the appropriate zones, a zonescene command could apply the following attributes:

Set volumes levels in each zones (each zone can have a differentvolume).

Mute/Unmute zones.

Select and play specific music in the zones.

Set the play mode of the music (Shuffle, Repeat, Shuffle-repeat).

Set the music playback equalization of each zone (e.g., bass treble).

A further extension of this embodiment is to trigger a zone scenecommand as an alarm clock function. For instance, the zone scene is setto apply at 8:00 am. It could link appropriate zones automatically, setspecific music to play, and then stop the music after a definedduration. Although a single zone may be assigned to an alarm, a sceneset as an alarm clock provides a synchronized alarm, allowing any zoneslinked in the scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., a favorable song,a predefined playlist) at a specific time or for a specific duration.If, for any reason, the scheduled music failed to be played (e.g., anempty playlist, no connection to a share, failed UPnP, no Internetconnection for an Internet Radio station), a backup buzzer will sound.This buzzer will be a sound file that is stored in a zone player.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary user interface 400 that may be displayed on acontroller 142 or a computer 110 of FIG. 1. The interface 400 shows alist of items that may be set up by a user to cause a scene to functionat a specific time. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the list of itemsincludes “Alarm”, “Time”, “Zone”, “Music”, “Frequency” and “Alarmlength”. “Alarm” can be set on or off. When “Alarm” is set on, “Time” isa specific time to set off the alarm. “Zone” shows which zone playersare being set to play a specified audio at the specific time. “Music”shows what audio is to be played when the specific time arrives.“Frequency” allows the user to define a frequency of the alarm. “Alarmlength” defines how long the audio is to be played. It should be notedthat the user interface 400 is provided herein to show some of thefunctions associated with setting up an alarm. Depending on an exactimplementation, other functions, such as time zone, daylight savings,time synchronization, and time/date format for display may also beprovided.

According to one embodiment, each zone player in a scene may be set upfor different alarms. For example, a “Morning” scene includes three zoneplayers, each in a bedroom, a den, and a dining room. After selectingthe scene, the user may set up an alarm for the scene as whole. As aresult, each of the zone players will be activated at a specific time

FIG. 5A shows a user interface 500 to allow a user to form a scene. Thepanel on the left shows the available zones in a household. The panel onthe right shows the zones that have been selected and grouped as part ofthis scene. Depending on an exact implementation of a user interface,Add/Remove buttons may be provided to move zones between the panels, orzones may be dragged along between panels.

FIG. 5B shows another user interface 520 to allow a user to form ascene. The user interface 520 that may be displayed on a controller or acomputing device, lists available zones in a system. A checkbox isprovided next to each of the zones so that a user may check in the zonesto be associated with the scene.

FIG. 5C shows a user interface 510 to allow a user to adjust a volumelevel of the zone players in a zone scene individually or collectively.As shown in the user interface 510, the ‘Volumes . . . ’ button (shownas sliders, other forms are possible) allows the user to affect thevolumes of the associated zone players when a zone scene is invoked. Inone embodiment, the zone players can be set to retain whatever volumethat they currently have when the scene is invoked. Additionally, theuser can decide if the volumes should be unmuted or muted when the sceneis invoked.

V. PROVIDING EXAMPLE PLAYER THEMES OR ZONE SCENES

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart or process 600 of providing a player theme or azone scene for a plurality of players, where one or more of the playersare placed in a zone. The process 600 is presented in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention and may be implemented in amodule to be located in the memory 282 of FIG. 2C.

The process 600 is initiated only when a user decides to proceed with azone scene at 602. The process 600 then moves to 604 where it allows auser to decide which zone players to be associated with the scene. Forexample, there are ten players in a household, and the scene is namedafter “Morning”. The user may be given an interface to select four ofthe ten players to be associated with the scene. At 606, the scene issaved. The scene may be saved in any one of the members in the scene. Inthe example of FIG. 1, the scene is saved in one of the zone players anddisplayed on the controller 142. In operation, a set of data pertainingto the scene includes a plurality of parameters. In one embodiment, theparameters include, but may not be limited to, identifiers (e.g., IPaddress) of the associated players and a playlist. The parameters mayalso include volume/tone settings for the associated players in thescene. The user may go back to 602 to configure another scene ifdesired.

Given a saved scene, a user may activate the scene at any time or set upa timer to activate the scene at 610. The process 600 can continue whena saved scene is activated at 610. At 612, upon the activation of asaved scene, the process 600 checks the status of the players associatedwith the scene. The status of the players means that each of the playersshall be in condition to react in a synchronized manner. In oneembodiment, the interconnections of the players are checked to make surethat the players communicate among themselves and/or with a controllerif there is such a controller in the scene.

It is assumed that all players associated with the scene are in goodcondition. At 614, commands are executed with the parameters (e.g.,pertaining to a playlist and volumes). In one embodiment, data includingthe parameters is transported from a member (e.g., a controller) toother members in the scene so that the players are caused to synchronizean operation configured in the scene. The operation may cause allplayers to play back a song in identical or different volumes or to playback a pre-stored file.

One of the features, benefits and advantages is to allow sets of relateddevices (controllers and operating components) to exist as a groupwithout interfering with other components that are potentially visibleon the same wired or wireless network. Each of the sets is configured toa theme or a scene.

VI. EXAMPLE MULTI-CHANNEL ENVIRONMENTS

FIG. 7 shows a configuration in which an audio source is played back ontwo players 702 and 704, according to an example embodiment. These twoplayers 702 and 704 may be located in and around one place (e.g., ahall, room, or nearby rooms) and are designated to play two sound tracksrespectively. For example, an audio source may have left and right soundchannels or tracks (e.g., stereo sound). Instead of grouping the players702 and 704 to play back the audio source together, a user can group orpair the players 702 and 704 (e.g., through a designated interface) andcause the players 702 and 704 to play the two sound tracks respectively.Or instead of grouping the players 702 and 704 to play back the audiosource together in synchrony, where each player 702 and 704 plays thesame audio content at substantially the same time, the players 702 and704 can be paired to play different channels of the audio source insynchrony. As a result of pairing, the stereo sound effects can besimulated or enhanced via two players 702 and 704 versus one player ornone of the players, for example.

In certain embodiments, each player of players 702 and 704 includes anetwork interface, one or more speaker drivers (two or more speakerdrivers in some instances, such as when the player can play in stereomode absent pairing), an amplifier, and a processor, such as shown inFIG. 2A. The network interface receives audio data over a network. Oneor more amplifiers power the speaker drivers. The processor processesthe audio data to be output through the speaker drivers. The processormay further configure a first equalization of the output from thespeaker drivers in accordance with a first type of pairing andconfiguring a second equalization of the output from the speaker driversin accordance with a second type of pairing.

In an embodiment, the two players 702 and 704 are configured to output aplurality of audio channels independent of each other. For example, eachplayer 702 and 704 may be configured to output audio content in stereoindependently from each other. Subsequent to pairing, one playbackdevice (e.g., player 702) is configured to output a first subset of theplurality of audio channels and the other playback device (e.g., player704) is configured to output a second subset of the plurality of audiochannels. The first and second subsets are different. In this example,subsequent to pairing players 702 and 704, player 702 might play theright channel and player 704 might play the left channel. In anotherexample, player 702 might play the right channel plus a center channel(e.g., in television or theater mode) and player 704 might play the leftchannel plus the center channel. Even in the latter example, the firstand second subsets are different in that player 702 is playing channelsRight+Center and player 704 is playing channels Left+Center. In yetanother embodiment, subsequent to pairing, player 702 might play allchannels except certain bass frequencies, which may be played via player704, thereby using player 704 as a subwoofer.

In another embodiment, a collection of three or more playback devices(e.g., players 702, 704, and one or more additional players) are eachconfigured to output a plurality of audio channels independent ofanother playback device in the collection. Subsequent to pairing, eachof the playback devices is configured to output a generally differentaudio channel(s) from the collection. This embodiment is particularlyuseful in a television or movie theater setting where a particularplayback device of the multiple playback devices is configured to outputin two-channel or stereo mode at one time (e.g., when playing a song),and subsequent to pairing, is configured to output as a front-rightchannel, a front-center channel, a front-left channel, a rear-rightchannel, a rear-left channel, and so on (e.g., when watching a movie ortelevision).

In another embodiment, one of the paired playback devices (e.g., player702 or player 704) processes the data of the audio item, essentiallyseparating the data into channels, each of the channels representing asingle-sound track, for example, and being played back in one of theplayback devices, thus creating or enhancing a multi-channel listeningenvironment. In an alternative embodiment, both playback devices (e.g.,players 702 and 704) may receive and process the data of the audio itemand each playback device may output only the audio content designatedfor the respective player. For example, player 702 might receive bothleft and right channel audio, but only play the left channel, whereasplayer 704 might also receive both left and right channel audio, butonly play the right channel.

In another embodiment, two or more playback devices (e.g., players 702or 704) may be grouped into a single or consolidated playback device andthe consolidated playback device (e.g., consolidated player 702+704) maybe paired with one or more playback devices. For instance, two playbackdevices maybe grouped into a first consolidated playback device and twoadditional playback devices maybe grouped into a second consolidatedplayback device. Then, the first and second consolidated playbackdevices may be paired to create or enhance a multi-channel listeningenvironment.

In certain embodiments, a playback device (e.g., either player 702 or704) that is configured to output an audio channel is paired with one ormore additional playback devices, such that the playback device isconfigured to output a different audio channel than previouslyconfigured. For instance, the playback device might be configured tooutput a right channel in stereo mode, but subsequent to being pairedwith one or more additional playback devices, might be configured tooutput a rear, right channel in theater mode. The playback device may bepaired to one or more other playback devices.

In certain embodiments, a playback device (e.g., either player 702 or704) that is configured to output a plurality of audio channels ispaired with one or more additional playback devices, such that theplayback device is configured to output a subset of the plurality ofaudio channels relative to the one or more additional playback devices.For instance, the playback device might be configured to output intwo-channel or stereo mode, but subsequent to being paired with one ormore playback devices might be configured to output a right or leftchannel. The playback device may be paired to one or more other playbackdevices.

According to certain embodiments, the action of pairing two or moreplayback devices is triggered based on a command from a user via acontrol interface (e.g., a manual command) or responsive to an event(e.g., an automatic command). For example, using a controller, a usercan create a pairing between two or more playback devices or disengagethe pairing between two or more playback devices. In another example,pairing may be triggered by the audio content itself, a signal receivedfrom a source device, or some other predefined event, such that pairingoccurs when the event is detected by the controller or playback device,for example. In addition, another device might be programmed to detectthe event and provide a pairing signal to the controller and/or playbackdevices.

Further, it is understood that going from a configuration of no pairing(unpaired or non paired) to a configuration of pairing or from one kindof pairing (e.g., a pairing used in a type of stereo mode or theatermode) to a different kind of pairing (e.g., another pairing used in atype of stereo mode or theater mode) are all various types of “pairing”that can occur according to certain embodiments. In addition,disengaging a pairing between multiple playback devices might go frompairing to no pairing or from pairing of a first kind back to pairing ofa previous kind, for example.

In one example, a first type of pairing might include “no pairing” withanother playback device and a second type of pairing might includepairing with one or more additional playback devices. In a secondexample, a first type of pairing might include pairing with a secondplayback device and a second type of pairing might include pairing witha plurality of playback devices. In a third example, a first type ofpairing might include reproducing two channel sound via the speakerdrivers and a second type of pairing comprises reproducing no more thanone channel of the two channel sound via the speaker drivers. In afourth example, a first type of pairing might comprise reproducing afirst audio channel via the speaker drivers and the second type ofpairing might include reproducing a second audio channel via the speakerdrivers. In a fifth example, a first type of pairing might includereproducing the audio content via the speaker drivers in stereo mode anda second type of pairing might include reproducing the audio content viathe speaker drivers in theater mode. In a sixth example, a first type ofpairing might include reproducing the audio content via the speakerdrivers and a second type of pairing comprises reproducing the audiocontent via the speaker drivers when in consolidated mode. It isunderstood that various variations and modifications may be made to theexamples described just above with the attainment of some or all of theadvantages of the technology described herein.

According to certain embodiments, the configuration of a playback devicemay include any of: changing the equalization of the playback device bychanging the equalization of one or more specific speaker drivers andoptimizing the synchronization between paired devices. Changing theequalization of the playback device might include any of: turning on oroff (or effectively muting) one or more specific speaker drivers,changing the channel output of one or more speaker drivers, changing thefrequency response of one or more specific speaker drivers, changing theamplifier gain of any particular speaker driver, changing the amplifiergain of the playback device as a whole.

In certain embodiments, changing the equalization of a playback device(e.g., changing the equalization of one or more speaker drivers of theplayback device) may affect frequency dependent parameters. Examplesmight include the adjustment of the strength of frequencies within theaudio data, a phase adjustment, and time-delay adjustment. In addition,a particular equalization may use a first type of pass filter, such asone that attenuates high, middle, or low frequencies, for example, whileallowing other frequencies to pass unfiltered (or substantiallyunfiltered). Filters might also be different kinds or of a differentorder (e.g., first order filter, second order filter, third orderfilter, fourth order filter, and so on). For example, a firstequalization of a playback device might include using a first type ofpass filter to modify the output based on a first type of pairing and asecond equalization of the playback device might include using a secondtype of pass filter to modify the output based on the second type ofpairing. In this example, the first and second type of pass filters haveone or different properties and/or behaviors, thus changing theequalization and sonic behavior of the device.

By way of illustration, when two S5 devices are paired to create astereo pair, for example, one S5 device may be configured as the “left”and the other S5 device may be configured as the “right.” In oneembodiment, the user may determine which is left or right. In thisconfiguration, for example, the left and right audio data may be sent toboth S5 devices, but the left audio data of the track is played out ofthe S5 device configured as left and the right audio data of a track isplayed out of the S5 device configured as right. In addition, theequalization of each S5 device is changed in an attempt to reduce oreliminate certain constructive or destructive interference. For example,one tweeter on each S5 device may be turned off or substantially muted.In certain embodiments, the crossover frequency to each driver may evenbe changed from a previous configuration so that two or more drivers arenot necessarily outputting the exact same audio data, otherwiseconstructive and/or destructive interference may occur. In certainembodiments, the amplifier gain is adjusted for a particular speakerdriver and/or for the playback device as a whole.

In operation, according to certain embodiments, a controller 706 (e.g.,a controller 142 of FIG. 1 or 240 of FIG. 2B or a portable device) isused to initiate the operation. Through a user interface, the controller706 causes a player 702 to retrieve the audio source, provided the audiosource is on a network 708 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).Similarly, the controller 706 may also cause a designated device (e.g.,another networked device) to establish a communication session with theplayer 702 to deliver the requested audio source. In any case, eitherone or both of the players 702 and 704 may have access to the datarepresenting the audio source.

In certain embodiments, a module in the player 702 is activated toprocess the data. According to one embodiment, the right and left soundtracks are separated. One sound track is retained locally in one playerand the other sound track is pushed or uploaded to the other device(e.g., via an ad-hoc network). When the right and left sound tracks areplayed back simultaneously or substantially simultaneously, the stereosound effect can be appreciated.

In another embodiment, several tracks are separated, such as intelevision or theater mode. For example, the tracks may be separatedinto a center channel, right front channel, left front channel, rightrear channel, left rear channel, and so on. Accordingly, one or moresound tracks may be retained locally in one player and the other soundtracks are pushed or uploaded to the other devices.

In yet another embodiment, one player might process the data and retainone or more tracks locally, while the remaining data is sent ontoanother player. The receiving player may then process the data andretain one or more tracks locally and send any remaining data ontoanother player. This process, or one like it, may continue until all ofthe tracks are retained locally by corresponding player devices.

In yet another embodiment, each player might receive and process thedata and play only the channel or channels that are designated for thatplayer.

In certain embodiments, it is important to maintain goodsynchronization, especially when pairing two or more independentlyclocked playback devices so that the multi-channel audio content isplayed back as it was originally intended. According to an embodiment, amessage may be initiated from one device to another that is alsoactivated to send back an acknowledgement. Upon receiving theacknowledgement, the time delay in transporting data from one device toanother can be measured. The time delay will be considered whensynchronizing the two players to play back the two separated soundtracks. In one embodiment, the locally retained sound track data isdelayed to start with a latency determined by the time delay. Dependingon implementation, such a time delay may be measured from time to timeto ensure that the two sound tracks are simultaneously played back.Additionally, or alternatively, in certain embodiments, if sending apacket (e.g., a packet in accordance with SNTP protocol) to a playbackdevice and receiving a response takes more than fifteen milliseconds,for example, the timing information contained within that packet, suchas clock information, is discarded. If sending and receiving a packet isless than fifteen milliseconds, then the information from the packet isused to adjust playback, if so necessary.

Additional details of synchronizing operations of two or more playersare provided in commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 10/816,217,filed Apr. 1, 2004, entitled “System and Method For SynchronizingOperations Among A Plurality Of Independently Clocked Digital DataProcessing Devices” which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 8 shows an example configuration of a pairing amongst multipleplayers 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, and 812 in a theater-like environment,in accordance to an embodiment. Player 802 may operate as a front-leftchannel, player 804 may operate as a center channel, player 806 mayoperate as a front-right channel, player 808 may operate as a subwoofer,player 810 may operate as a rear, right channel, and player 812 mayoperate as a rear, right channel. In this example, the players 802, 804,806, 808, 810, and 812 are wirelessly coupled over network 815 so as toreceive and transmit data over a wireless network, and obtain power frompower outlets in the wall or through some other power source (e.g., abattery). Players 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, and 812 may be wired, if soconfigured in an alternate embodiment. Controller 814 may be anetwork-enabled device, examples of which include a smart phone, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, desktop computer, or a television.

In one embodiment, a designated player, such as player 804, receivesmulti-channel audio content from a source 816. Source 816 might includeaudio and/or video content downloaded or streamed from the Internet, aDVD or Blu-Ray player, or from some other source of audio and/or videocontent. Player 804 separates the multi-channel audio and sendsrespective audio channels to its playback owner. For example, if aparticular audio channel is designated for the front, right speaker,then that content is wirelessly directed from player 804 to player 802,and so on. Players 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, and 812 play the audiocontent synchronously, so as to create a multi-channel listeningenvironment. Moreover, if source 816 provides video content along withaudio content, then the audio content is preferably played in synchronywith the video content.

In another embodiment, each player of players 802, 804, 806, 808, 810,and 812 may separate out its own one or more channels for playback. Thatis, either all audio content, or a portion thereof, is sent to eachplayer (e.g., from source 816 or another playback device) and the playeritself obtains its own data for playback.

In addition, players 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, and 812 may bereconfigured to operate in many different configurations, such asdescribed above. For example, players 802 and 806 may be paired tooperate in stereo mode, while the other players remain in sleep mode orturned off (player 808 may remain on in any particular configuration, ifso desired and configured, because it is operating as a subwoofer). Inanother example, players 802 and 810 may be consolidated and output leftchannel audio, while players 806 and 812 may be consolidated and outputright channel audio. In yet another example, some of players 802, 804,806, 808, 810, and 812 are consolidated into a single player and pairedwith additional playback devices, such as in an adjacent room. In afurther example, players 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, and 812 are groupedand not paired, when the audio content is music (versus movie content,for example). These are just some configuration examples. Many otherconfigurations are possible using the teachings described herein.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart or process 900 of grouping a plurality of audioproducts to play separated sound tracks in synchronization to simulate amulti-channel listening environment. The process 900 is presented inaccordance with certain embodiments and may be implemented in a moduleto be located in the memory 282 of FIG. 2D. To facilitate thedescription of process 900, a listening environment of stereo sound withleft and right channels is described. Those skilled in the art canappreciate that the description can be equally applied to other forms ofmulti-channel listening environment (e.g., three, five, seven channelenvironments).

Typically, there is a plurality of players being controlled by one ormore controllers, where these players are disposed in various locations.For example, there are five players in a house, three of them arerespectively disposed in three rooms while two players are disposed in alarger room. Accordingly, these two players would be candidates to bepaired to simulate a stereo listening environment, instead of justplaying synchronized audio from both in a grouped fashion. In anotherexample, there are four players in a large space or adjacent spaces, twopairs of the players may be paired to simulate a stereo listeningenvironment, in which two players in one consolidated pair can begrouped to play back one (left) sound track and the other two in theother consolidated pair can be grouped to play back one (right) soundtrack.

In any case, two groups of players or two players are decided to bepaired at 902. If no players are paired, the process 900 will not beactivated. It is assumed that two players from a group of players beingcontrolled by a controller are selected to be paired at 902. The process900 proceeds.

At 904, a user may decide which player is to play back which soundtrack. Depending on the location of the user or listener(s) with respectto the selected players, it is assumed that a player or unit A is chosento play back a left sound track and another player or unit B is chosento play back a right sound track. In an alternative embodiment, theplayers themselves (or the controller) may automatically determine whichunit is configured to play the right channel and which unit isconfigured to play the left channel without input from the user.

According to one embodiment, a time delay in transporting data betweenthe two units A and B is measured at 906. This time delay may facilitatesound synchronization between the two units as one of the units willreceive a processed sound track from the other. The user may continue tooperate on a controller to select a title (e.g., an audio source or anitem from a playlist) for playback on the two units at 910.

Once the title is determined at 912, the data for the title is accessed.Depending on where the data is located, the controller may be configuredto cause one of the two units to obtain or stream in the data. In oneembodiment, the controller or unit A initiates a request to aremotely-networked device providing or storing the data. Assuming anauthentication procedure, if any, completes successfully, the remotedevice starts to upload the data to the unit A. Likewise, if the data islocally stored in the unit A, the data can be accessed locally withoutrequesting the same from the network. As the data is being received oraccessed in the unit A, a processing module is activated in the unit Ato process the data, essentially separating the data into two streams ofsound tracks at 914. In an alternative embodiment, each unit may receiveand process the data, essentially separating the data into a stream tobe played by the respective unit.

At 916, one of the streams is uploaded from the unit A to unit B via alocal network (e.g., the ad-hoc network formed by all the players beingcontrolled by the controller). As the streams are being distributed, thetwo units are configured to play back the streams respectively, eachreproducing the sound of a single sound track at 918. Together, the twounits create a stereo sound listening environment.

It should be noted that the delay time, if noticeable, may beincorporated into the unit A to delay the consumption of the stream bythe delay time to synchronize with the unit B. Alternatively, anon-selected player may be used to process a streaming data of the titleand configured to supply two streams to the pair of players, thusequalizing the delay time that would be otherwise experienced by theunit B.

FIGS. 10A-10F show illustrative screenshots of a controller for creatinga stereo pair in accordance with certain embodiments. The screenshotsare from a computing device (e.g., a tablet computer, laptop, ordesktop) used as a controller. Those skilled in the art can appreciatethat FIGS. 10A-10F may be readily modified to be used in a portabledevice with network capability, such as iPhone or iTouch or other smartphone or other network-enabled devices. Additionally, the controllermight exist as part of a player itself or directly/indirectly coupled tothe player, and therefore such screenshots may be modifiedaccordingly—such a controller need not have network capability as theplayer will have network connectivity.

FIG. 10A shows a graphic interface 1000 that may be displayed or causedto be displayed on a controller when a user desires to create a stereopair with two players in a system. It is understood that the system mayinclude two or more players. If a stereo pair is desired, such asdiscussed with respect to the example of FIGS. 10A-10F, then any twoplayers (one or both of which may be a consolidated player) in thesystem may be paired. However, if pairing more than two players isdesired, such as creating an environment which is capable of playingmore than two channel audio data, then the graphic interface 1000 mayinclude an additional option or options. For example, an option mightinclude “Make a Movie Surround Sound Pairing,” “Make a Music SurroundSound Pairing,” or “Make a Dolby Pro Logic Pairing.” Any descriptivelanguage may be used to appropriately indicate to the user the type ofpairing that can be created. Upon selecting an option, a setup wizard onthe controller may help the user appropriately configure the system suchthat multi-channel discrete audio may be effectively realized by thesystem.

Turning back to FIG. 10A, the interface 1000 allows a user to initiate astereo pair with a zone player named “ZPS5-Black.” In certainembodiments, the system recognizes that ZPS5-Black is part of aparticular zone (e.g., kitchen, family room, bedroom, and so on). Thesystem may allow the user to pair ZPS5-Black with another player in thesame zone only, or alternatively, the system may allow the user to pairZPS5-Black with another player in a different zone (such as an adjacentzone). Pairing players in different zones may be particularly usefulwhen an open space is divided into two or more zones (e.g., an openspace might include a kitchen and family room, for example).

Additionally, the system may be programmed such that pairing playersfrom different zones creates another zone to reflect the players inpaired mode (e.g., a single kitchen-family room zone during pairedoperation might originate from a kitchen zone and a family room zoneduring non-paired operation). In such an embodiment, a user may be ableto switch between zones or dynamically create new zones.

In certain embodiments, if another similar player is available to bepaired, then the screenshot of FIG. 10B may be displayed. If the userwishes to continue with creating a pair, then the user may select “OK.”If not, then the user may select “Cancel.” In another embodiment, adifferent player (e.g., a player that is not an S5) may be pairedtogether. That is, different types of players may be paired, if theplayers are so designed to be paired. To accommodate the differences inplayer type, the equalization of one or more players may be adjustedaccordingly to compensate for things like the number and size of speakerdrivers used in one player versus the other player. In yet anotherembodiment, a list of the players in the system may be displayed (notshown), from which the user selects two or more players to make thestereo pair. The list of players may be automatically determined by thesystem based on a player's particular location within a home, room, orconfiguration with other players within a room, for example.

Turning now to FIG. 10C, in this example, it is assumed that the usermay select a zone player named “ZPS5-White” to be paired with“ZPS5-Black” to create a stereo pair. If so desired, the user may select“OK” to proceed with the pairing. Otherwise, the user may select“Cancel.” In certain embodiments, ZPS5-White may be in the same zone asZPS5-Black. In other embodiments, ZPS5-White may be in a different zoneas ZPS5-Black.

Upon selecting “OK” in FIG. 10C, a screenshot like that of FIG. 10D maybe displayed to the user, thereby instructing the user to press the mutebutton (or some other designated button) on the “LEFT” player of thestereo pair. Further, a light on the players may flash to furtherindicate that each of the players is a possibility for left channelpairing. Upon selection of the left player, FIG. 10E may be displayed toinform the user that a pair has been created along with a name for thepair, if so desired. Responsively, the system will play the left channelaudio from the user designated player and will automatically play theright channel audio from the other player. FIG. 10F provides an examplescreenshot to allow the user to separate the stereo pair if so desired.

In an alternative embodiment, the creation of a stereo pair may be anoption for a particular zone or a number of zones (e.g., a household ofzones). For example, an option like “Create a Stereo Pair” may existsuch that upon selection, a setup wizard may launch asking the user topress a flashing mute button (or some other designated button) onwhichever speaker the user wanted to be the left speaker in the zone, aportion of zones, or all of the zones. In one embodiment, flashing wouldoccur for all of the same speaker types. In another embodiment, flashingwould occur for all speaker types that are capable of being paired.After choosing the left speaker, the wizard screen would ask the user todo the same for the right speaker. Preferably, only the speakers thatare capable of being paired as the right speaker are flashing so as toappropriately narrow the choices for the user.

As the stereo pair is playing back various audio items, the user isprovided with an option to control either one or both of the soundchannels. FIG. 10D shows a display 1030 that one of the two channels isbeing muted. FIG. 10E shows a display 1040 that reminds the user of whatname the stereo pair is named after.

Additionally, in one embodiment and as shown in FIG. 3A or 3B, a graphicdisplay is provided to show to the user all the players in a system andhow they are grouped or named. A nickname for the stereo pair in thedisplay 1040 is highlighted and would be further displayed in FIG. 3A ifFIG. 3A is modified after the stereo pair is complete, provided the twoplayers are in one place so that the stereo sound effect can beexperienced. FIG. 10F provides an interface to allow the user toseparate the stereo pair when needed.

A similar graphic interface may be used to create a pair in anenvironment having more than two channels. For example, in a hometheater environment, the system may list more than two separate playersfrom which the user can create a pairing by selecting which player is tooperate as the front right, center, front left, rear right, and rearleft. A subwoofer may also be added to the list, so that it can beintegrated into the multi-channel pairing by the user.

As an example, similar to what is described in the various embodimentsabove with respect to creating a stereo pair, the system may flash anindicator light on all relevant players and a setup wizard may ask theuser to select the “front-left,” then the “front-right,” then the“front-center,” then the “rear-left,” then the “rear-right,” and so onuntil all of the players are appropriately paired. Preferably, only thespeakers that are capable of being paired as the next speaker areflashing so as to appropriately narrow the choices for the user.

VII. CONCLUSION

The components, elements, and/or functionality of the systems discussedabove may be implemented alone or in combination in various forms inhardware, firmware, and/or as a set of instructions in software, forexample. Certain embodiments may be provided as a set of instructionsresiding on a computer-readable medium, such as a memory, hard disk,CD-ROM, DVD, and/or EPROM, for execution on a processing device, such asa controller and/or playback device.

Various inventions have been described in sufficient detail with acertain degree of particularity. It is understood to those skilled inthe art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by wayof examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement andcombination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as claimed. While the embodiments discussedherein may appear to include some limitations as to the presentation ofthe information units, in terms of the format and arrangement, theinvention has applicability well beyond such embodiment, which can beappreciated by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a network device; a firstplayback device; and a second playback device, the second playbackdevice comprising: a network interface; at least one processor; andprogram instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that are executable by the at least oneprocessor, wherein execution of the program instructions configures thesecond playback device to: based on receiving an instruction for thesecond playback device to operate in a first mode in which the secondplayback device is paired with the first playback device, operate in thefirst mode, wherein operating in the first mode comprises (i) receiving,from a remote computing device via the network interface, first audiocontent comprising a first channel and a second channel, wherein thefirst channel of the first audio content is different from the secondchannel of the first audio content, (ii) transmitting at least the firstchannel of the first audio content to the first playback device, and(iii) coordinating with the first playback device to play the secondchannel of the first audio content in synchrony with the first playbackdevice playing the first channel of the first audio content; and basedon receiving an instruction for the second playback device to operate ina second mode in which the second playback device is paired with thefirst playback device, operate in the second mode, wherein operating inthe second mode comprises (i) receiving, from the network device via thenetwork interface, playback timing information and second audio contentcomprising a second channel and (ii) playing back the second channel ofthe second audio content based on the received playback timinginformation while the first playback device plays back a first channelof the second audio content based on the playback timing information. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein, while operating in the first mode,coordinating with the first playback device to play the second channelof the first audio content in synchrony with the first playback deviceplaying the first channel of the first audio content comprises (i)determining playback timing for the first playback device and the secondplayback device and (ii) playing back the second channel of the firstaudio content based on the determined playback timing.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, further comprising a third playback device, wherein, whenoperating in the first mode, determining playback timing for the firstplayback device and the second playback device comprises receivingtiming information from the third playback device.
 4. The system ofclaim 2, wherein determining playback timing for the first playbackdevice and the second playback device comprises measuring a time delayassociated with exchanging data between the second playback device andat least the first playback device.
 5. The system of claim 2, whereindetermining the playback timing information comprises determining, viatransmission of one or more Simple Network Time Protocol messages, atime differential between a first time indicated by a first clock on thefirst playback device and a second time indicated by a second clock onthe second playback device.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprisinga third playback device, wherein the second playback device operating inthe first mode comprises the second playback device sending timinginformation to the third playback device via the network interface. 7.The system of claim 1, further comprising a third playback device,wherein the second audio content further comprises a third channel, andwherein the second playback device operating in the second modecomprises: receiving, from the network device via the network interface,the second channel of the second audio content; and wherein playing backthe second channel of the second audio content based on the receivedplayback timing information while the first playback device plays back afirst channel of the second audio content based on the playback timinginformation comprises playing back the second channel of the secondaudio content based on the received playback timing information whilethe third playback device plays back the third channel of the secondaudio content based on the playback timing information.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructionsexecutable by the second playback device such that the second playbackdevice is configured to operate in a third mode in which the secondplayback device is not paired with the first playback device.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein, in the third mode, the second playbackdevice is configured to receive, via the network interface from theremote computing device, a first set of one or more channels of audiocontent, and play back the first set of one or more channels of audiowithin a first range of audio frequencies based on audio data processedby the second playback device.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein, inthe first mode, the second playback device is configured to play backthe second channel of the first audio content within a second range ofaudio frequencies based on audio data processed by the second playbackdevice, and wherein the second range of audio frequencies is differentfrom the first range of audio frequencies.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein, in the third mode, the second playback device is configured toreceive, via the network interface from the network device, a first setof one or more channels of audio content, and play back the first set ofone or more channels of audio within a first range of audio frequencies.12. The system of claim 11, wherein, in the second mode, the secondplayback device is configured to play back the second channel of thefirst audio content within a second range of audio frequencies based onaudio data processed by the second playback device, and wherein thesecond range of audio frequencies is different from the first range ofaudio frequencies.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein, in the thirdmode, the second playback device is configured to receive, via thenetwork interface from the network device, an instruction to pair withthe first playback device, and, based on the received instruction,switch from operating in the third mode to operating (i) in the firstmode or (ii) in the second mode.
 14. The system of claim 8, whereinoperating in the third mode comprises grouping the first playback deviceand the second playback device such that the first playback device andthe second playback device play back the same audio content insubstantial synchrony.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein, in the secondmode, the second playback device is further configured to switch fromoperating in the second mode to operating in the first mode afterreceiving the second channel of the second audio content from thenetwork device.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the second mode isdifferent from the first mode.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions comprise operating in a third mode in which thesecond playback device is paired with the first playback device, whereinoperating in the third mode comprises: receiving, from the networkdevice via the network interface, playback timing information and secondmedia content comprising the first channel of audio content; and playingback the first channel of the second audio content while the firstplayback device plays back the second channel of the second audiocontent in accordance with the received playback timing information. 18.A first playback device, the first playback device comprising: a networkinterface; at least one processor; and program instructions stored on atangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable bythe at least one processor, wherein execution of the programinstructions configures the first playback device to: based on receivingan instruction for the first playback device to operate in a first modein which the first playback device is paired with a second playbackdevice, operate in the first mode, wherein operating in the first modecomprises (i) receiving, from a remote computing device via the networkinterface, first audio content comprising a first channel and a secondchannel, wherein the first channel of the first audio content isdifferent from the second channel of the first audio content, (ii)transmitting at least the second channel of the first audio content tothe second playback device, and (iii) coordinating with the secondplayback device to play the first channel of the first audio content insynchrony with the second playback device playing the second channel ofthe first audio content; and based on receiving an instruction for thefirst playback device to operate in a second mode in which the firstplayback device is paired with the second playback device, operate inthe second mode, wherein operating in the second mode comprises (i)receiving, from the network device via the network interface, playbacktiming information and second audio content comprising a first channeland (ii) playing back the first channel of the second audio contentbased on the received playback timing information while the secondplayback device plays back a second channel of the second audio contentbased on the playback timing information.
 19. The first playback deviceof claim 18, wherein, while operating in the first mode, coordinatingwith the second playback device to play the first channel of the firstaudio content in synchrony with the second playback device playing thesecond channel of the first audio content comprises (i) determiningplayback timing for the first playback device and the second playbackdevice and (ii) playing back the first channel of the first audiocontent based on the determined playback timing.
 20. The first playbackdevice of claim 19, wherein when operating in the first mode,determining playback timing for the first playback device and the secondplayback device comprises receiving timing information from a thirdplayback device.
 21. The first playback device of claim 19, whereindetermining playback timing for the first playback device and the secondplayback device comprises measuring a time delay associated withexchanging data between the first playback device and at least thesecond playback device.
 22. The first playback device of claim 19,wherein determining the playback timing information comprisesdetermining, via transmission of one or more Simple Network TimeProtocol messages, a time differential between a first time indicated bya first clock on the first playback device and a second time indicatedby a second clock on the second playback device.
 23. The first playbackdevice of claim 18, wherein the program instructions further compriseinstructions executable by the first playback device such that the firstplayback device is configured to operate in a third mode in which thefirst playback device is not paired with the second playback device. 24.The first playback device of claim 23, wherein, in the third mode, thefirst playback device is configured to receive, via the networkinterface from the remote computing device, a first set of one or morechannels of audio content, and play back the first set of one or morechannels of audio within a first range of audio frequencies based onaudio data processed by the first playback device.
 25. The firstplayback device of claim 24, wherein, in the first mode, the firstplayback device is configured to play back the first channel of thefirst audio content within a second range of audio frequencies based onaudio data processed by the first playback device, and wherein thesecond range of audio frequencies is different from the first range ofaudio frequencies.
 26. The first playback device of claim 23, wherein,in the third mode, the first playback device is configured to receive,via the network interface from the network device, a first set of one ormore channels of audio content, and play back the first set of one ormore channels of audio within a first range of audio frequencies. 27.The first playback device of claim 26, wherein, in the second mode, thefirst playback device is configured to play back the first channel ofthe first audio content within a second range of audio frequencies basedon audio data processed by the first playback device, and wherein thesecond range of audio frequencies is different from the first range ofaudio frequencies.
 28. The first playback device of claim 23, wherein,in the third mode, the first playback device is configured to receive,via the network interface from the network device, an instruction topair with the second playback device, and, based on the receivedinstruction, switch from operating in the third mode to operating (i) inthe first mode or (ii) in the second mode.
 29. The first playback deviceof claim 23 wherein operating in the third mode comprises grouping thefirst playback device and the second playback device such that the firstplayback device and the second playback device play back the same audiocontent in substantial synchrony.
 30. The first playback device of claim18, wherein, in the second mode, the second playback device is furtherconfigured to switch from operating in the second mode to operating inthe first mode after receiving the second channel of the second audiocontent from the network device.